Hemming and trimming attachment for sewing-machines



H. CORRALL AND .I. HEGGIE. HEMMING AND TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, I9I6.

1,339,742. v Patented May11,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- ,?0 /9 m/ vmroas.

Herbert Oarrwll H. COHRALL AND- J. HEGGIE. HEMMING AND TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATI'ON FILED MN- l l, 1 9146.

Patented May 11, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOHS flerar l; Corral], 470mm Ha j?) H. COR BALL AND J. HEGGIE.

HEMMING AND TR-IMMING AITACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MN. 11-. L916.

Patented May 11, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

lNVE/VTOHS Hererlforrqll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT CORRALL, OF HELENSBURGH, AND JAMES HEGGIE, OF GLYDEBANK,

SCOTLAND, ASSIG-NORS TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A COR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HEMMING AND TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1916. Serial No. 71,420.

and Ireland, and residing, respectively, at

Helensburgh and Clydebank, both within Dumbartonshire, Scotland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hemmin and Trimming Attachments for Sewing lachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its primary object to adapt a sewing machine for simultaneously hemming and trimming the raw edges of felt hats and other articles.

To this end the invention provides a trimming attachment comprising a vertically reciprocatory knife having a downwardly directed cutting edge and a cooperating yieldingly mounted shearing blade movable relative to the knife and in a direction substantially parallel to the path of movement of the knife. The shearing blade is adapted to rest upon a body-fabric beneath an overturned hem so that the raw-edges of the hem may be sustained and trimmed smooth by the vertically reciprocated knife.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is an end view of the head of a sewing machine embodying the invention, showing the connections for'operating the needle-bar and othe usual vertically reciprocatory cutter bar; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan of the trimming device.

As shown, there is fitted to the lower end of the cutter bar 1, a bracket 2 formed as a yoke to the inner arm 3 of which is fixed a knife 4 constituting the upper trimming member and moving parallel to the needle path in advance of the needle 5, and to the outer arm 6 of which yoke is pivoted at 7 the carrier 7 for a shearing blade 8 cooperating with, and adapted to reciprocate in a direction substantially parallel to, the knife 4, said carrier 7 being acted upon by a spring 9 tending to maintain the lower surface of the tilting shearing blade 8 in contact with the body of the work.

To suit different thicknesses of felt and accommodate different 'widths of hem, it is necessary to provide for adjustment of the bracket 2, the upper trimming member or knife 4, and the lower trimming member or shearing-blade 8. Accordingly the bracket 2 is tongued and grooved as indicated at 2' to a slide 11 which is seated in a groove 12 in the cutter-bar 1. Horizontal and vertical Patented May 11, 1920.

right line adjustment of the bracket relative to the bar is permitted by the slot-and-screw connections 13 and 14 provided for that purpose. The knife and the lower or shearingblade 8 are each endwise adjustable by reason of their slot-and-screw connections 15 and 16, respectively, with the arm 3 and the carrier 7 The cutter-bar 1 is actuated from the needle-actuating shaft substantially as described in the patent to Hill and Schramm, No. 668,184, February 19, 1901, from which it differs merely in fixing the lower limit of the cutter-bar stroke, this being necessary so that the knife 4 will not descend closer to the throat-plate or work-support than the thickness of the thinnest material which is liable to be operated upon. As in said patent the applicants construction permits of elevating the trimming blades to an ineffective cutting position when stitching only is to be performed.

The resser-foot 17 is cut away on the left hand or trimmer operating side of the needle for the obvious purpose of permitting the stitches being laid as close as desired to the trimmed edge of the hem. A feed-dog 18 having" spaced fabric engaging portions 19 and 20 in front and rear'of the needle respectively is arranged for cooperation with the presser-foot wholly to one side of the line of seam-formation where it cannot lift the lower blade 8 in operation. The front fabric engaging portion is arranged directly opposite the lower trimming blade 8. By this arrangement and shape of the feed-dog and presser-foot it is very easy for the operator to simultaneously hem and trim the edge of a felt hat especially when it has been creased preparatory for this operation and an edge-guide is arranged on the same side of the needle as the feed-dog.

In operation, the work is fed below the carrier 7, the upper fold of the hem lying above the blade 8 and the width of the hem being determined by a guiding device 10 adjustably secured to the bed of the machine by a slot and thumb screw connection indicated at 21 and 22.

As the work is fed toward the needle 5,

the knife 4 reciprocates and in cooperation with the blade 8 trims the upper fold of the hem.

It will be understood that by virtue of the manner in which the knife 4: and blade 8 are mounted, the trimming device will operate with certainty irrespective of the thickness of the goods, without risk of cutting or marking the body of the hat or the like. It will also be understood that by virtue of the several adjustments for the bracket and blades of the trimming mechanism various thicknesses of material and widths of hem can be accommodated. It will also be noticed from the location of the pivot 7 at an elevation above the work-support approximately the same as the cutting edge of the knife i, that the active portion of the lower trimmer member 8 which cooperates with the knife 4 will be constrained to move in a path substantially parallel with that of the movable blade 4. By this construction and arrangement of the carrier 7 for the lower blade relative to the upper blade certainty of operation without interference is assured.

What we claim is 1. In a sewing machine having a throatplate, a trimming attachment comprising a rectilinearly reciprocating knife having a downwardly directed cutting edge arranged substantially in parallelism with said throatplate, and acooperating spring actuated shearing blade adapted to reciprocate in a direction substantially parallel to the path of movement of said knife.

2. A trimming attachment for sewingmachines comprising a vertically recii n'ocatory bar, a knife support movable with said bar, aknife participating in the vertical movements of said support, a shearing blade carrier pivoted to said support, a shearing blade sustained by said carrier and adapted to reciprocate in a direction substantially parallel to the path of movement of said knife, and a spring connection between said support and said carrier tending to tilt said shearing blade.

8. A trimming attachment for sew1ngina chines comprising a reciprocatory cutter bar, a yoke attached to said bar and adj nstable in vertical and horizontal directions, a knife fitted to one arm of said yoke, a spring-actuated carrier pivoted to the other arm of said yoke, and a tilting shearing blade fitted to said carrier.

l. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a trimming mechanism for severing the raw edges of an overturned hem including a vertically reciprocating knife and a lower blade operatively controlled by the thickness of the underlying fabric for cooperating with said knife and shaped to permit the overturned margin of material to overlie its active edge portion, said knife and blade having effective cutting edges located wholly in advance of the needle whereby a hem may be trimmed before it is stitched without impeding the travel or feed of the fabric.

5. In combination with a sewing machine, a trimming mechanism for severing the raw edges of an overturned hem including a vertically reciprocating knife, a pivoted lower blade spaced in operation above the worksupport, and operatively controlled by the thickness of an underlying fabric for cooperation with said knife, the pivot for the lower blade being arranged in substantial parallelism with the line of feed.

6. In combination witha sewing machinehaving a work-support, a trimming mechanism for severing the raw edges of an overturned hem including a vertically reciproeating knife and a lower blade spaced in operation above said work-support and having an active edge-portion for cooperation with said knife, said active edge-portion being movable independently of said knife and in a path substantially parallel to the path of movement of said knife, and said lower blade being supported laterally of the line of feed substantially to one side of the line of seamformation.

7. In combination with a sewing machine having a work-support, a trimming mecha nism for severing the raw edges of an upper of superimposed layers of material and including a substantially vertically reciprocating knife and a lower blade having an active. edge-portion cooperating with said knife, said lower blade having a pivot fixed relative to the knife, movable bodily therewith, and spaced laterally of the path of movement of the knife, whereby the lower blade may swing upon its pivot and its ac tive edge-portion may move in a path substantially parallel to the path of movement of the knife.

8. In combination with a sewing machine having a work-support and stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a trimming mechanism for severing the raw edges of an upper of superimposedlayers of material including a cutter-bar, means for reciprocating said cutter-bar less'distance than the needle, a bracket carried by said cutterbar, a pair of cooperating cutting members carried by said bracket and located above the worksupport, one of said cutting members being movable independently and having an active ledger portion movable substantially parallel to the path of movement of the other cutting member, and means tending to separate said cutting members in a vertical direction.

9. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism" and a worlesiipport, a cutter-bar, means for rec'iprocatingsaid cutter-bar vertically, a

bracket or yoke on said cutter-bar having a pair of arms, an upper trimming member secured to one of said arms, a carrier pivoted to the other of saidarms and movable in a vertical plane transverse the line of seam-formation, a lower trimming member secured to said carrier, the pivot of said carrier being located at substantially the same elevation above the work-support as the cutting edge of said upper trimming member whereby the active edge of the lower trimming member is moved into 00- operative cutting relationship with the upper trimming member when the latter descends against fabric interposed between the members.

10. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism and a work-support, a cutter-bar, means for reciprocating said cutter-bar above the worksupport, a yoke on said cutter-bar, a pair of relatively movable cutting members mounted on said yoke and means for adjusting said yoke bodily in a direction parallel to the plane of the work-support whereby the margin between the trimmed edges and the line of seam-formation may be varied.

11. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism and a work-support, a cutter-bar, means for reciprocating said cutter-bar above the worksupport, a yoke on said cutter-bar, a pair of relatively movable cutting members mounted on said yoke, means for adjusting said yoke toward and from said work-support whereby widely different thicknesses of material may be trimmed nicely.

12. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism and a work-support, a cutter-bar, means for reciprocating said cutter-bar above the worksupport, a yoke on said cutter-bar, a pair of relatively movable cutting members mounted on said yoke, means for adjusting said yoke vertically and horizontally and means for adjusting said cutting members relative to the yoke.

13. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a presser-foot and a feeddog arranged on one side of said needle, a trimming mechanism for severing the raw edges of a hem including a pair of relatively movable cutting members arranged entirely in advance of and on the side of said needle opposite said feed-dog and presser-foot, one of said cutting members being operatively controlled by the thickness of the bodyfabric.

14. In combination with a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a work-support, a presserfoot, a feed-dog and an edge-guide arranged on the same side of the needle, a trimming mechanism including a vertically reciprocated knife and an independently movable shearing blade arranged for cooperation with said knife and controlled by the thickness of an underlying fabric, said trimming mechanism being located on the side of the needle opposite said presser foot, feed dog and edge-guide, and said trimming mechanism being located above said work support.

15. In a trimming mechanism for sewing machines, a rectilinearly reciprocating knife having a cutting edge, a yieldingly supported lower blade the plane of the body of which makes a substantial angle with the path of movement of the knife, said lower blade having a cutting edge parallel to that of the knife, means for relatively moving said knife and blade to sever material with the cutting edges in parallelism.

16. In a trimming mechanism for sewing machines, a rectilinearly reciprocating knife having a cutting edge, a lower blade the plane of the body of which maintains a substantial angle with the path of movement of the knife,'said lower blade having a cutting edge parallel to that of the knife, means for relatively moving said knife and blade to sever material without moving said cutting edge out of parallelism, said lower blade being controlled by the thickness of the underlying fabric during a trimming operation.

17. In a sewing machine having stitchforming mechanism including a needle, a trimming mechanism comprising actuated cutting and ledger-blades disposed in planes intersecting each other at a substantial angle, the cutting edges of said blades being parallel.

18. In a sewing machine having stitchforming mechanism including a needle, a presser-foot, a trimming mechanism supported independently of said resser-foot and comprising actuated cutting and ledgerblades disposed in planes intersecting each other at a substantial angle, the cutting edges of said blades being parallel.

19. In a sewing machine having a needle and work sustaining means, a trimmer comprising a pair of pivotally connected blades disposed at an angle to each other with their cutting edges maintained parallel with each other and with the plane of the work.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence 0" two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT CORRALI; JAMES HEGGIE.

Witnesses:

WVALLACE CRANs'roN FAIRWEATHER. DOUGLAS KEITH FATRWEATHER. 

